Windy City Bookworm

Books. Fitness. Wellness. Life.

[windycitybookworm]

I was so excited to find gluten free flour at the grocery store last week, so I can finally bake some bread to try some of the jam recipes from The Sqirl Jam Book. There are so many homemade jam recipes included - everything from berry jam to tomato jam, and even citrus and apple jam! There is also a recipe for brown butter blondies that I cannot wait to try! (Page 70, since I know you'll want to try them too.) I'm really looking forward to apple season in a few months so I can try my hand at making the homemade roasted honey apple butter from this book! The book contains mostly jam recipes but also includes recipes for a few sweets that incorporate a jam filling or topping, such as honey cake with apple-lemon curd. If you enjoy jam or any jam-filled treat, I would highly recommend picking up The Sqirl Jam Book.

*Disclaimer* I received a copy of this book from the publisher as part of ABRAMS Dinner Party, in exchange for an honest review.

[windycitybookworm]

Act Like a Lady: Questionable Advice, Ridiculous Opinions, and Humiliating Tales from Three Undignified Women - Keltie Knight, Becca Tobin, & Jac Vanek

The hosts of the popular podcast and E! show LadyGang offer a relatable, empowering, and hilarious take on being unapologetically yourself (even if that's not always your best self) in a manifesto that redefines womanhood for the twenty-first-century lady. If you're tired of being bombarded with the curated perfection on social media and you're starving for something raw, honest, and a little bit messy, welcome to the LadyGang. Keltie, Becca, and Jac are here to clear away the bullshit and give you the confidence to live your best lady life. Unabashedly sincere, clever, and full of questionable advice, Act Like a Lady explores the complexities surrounding topics like body image, breakups, navigating a career, and adult friendships through their own embarrassing experiences. The LadyGang has your back with essays like "Maybe She's Born with It, Maybe It's Photoshop" and "If You're Happy and You Know It, Thank Your Ex." You'll learn there's a million different ways to be a lady--and that includes accidentally farting during sex or having the guts to tell your friend she's being a selfish assh*le. No matter what you're going through, you'll find a space to bond over the sloppy, heartbreaking, joyous, and often ridiculous realities of womanhood. Nothing is TMI here.

The Ladygang is one of my favorite podcasts, so I was ecstatic to receive an early copy of their book to review! Let me tell you, it did not disappoint! I personally enjoyed the essays written by Keltie, Becca, and Jac more than the “advice” sections of the book, but that is simply because I enjoy their podcast and was excited to learn more about their lives and backgrounds. It’s overall a fun read, but there are also some surprisingly vulnerable and touching stories included. 

I have to applaud these women because they did a great job making this book accessible to everyone - meaning you don’t have to have ever heard of The Ladygang podcast or any of these women in order to pick up the book and enjoy what you’re reading. I think this would be a great book to binge read on the beach this summer, and it’s also going to be a great book to give as a gift to a young woman in your life (hello, graduation!). Just as long as the recipient is okay with a little bit of TMI... because that’s what you get from The Ladygang. *Disclaimer* I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

[windycitybookworm]

The Heir Affair (Royal We #2) - Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan

After a scandalous secret turns their fairy-tale wedding into a nightmare, Rebecca “Bex” Porter and her husband Prince Nicholas are in self-imposed exile. The public is angry. The Queen is even angrier. And the press is salivating. Cutting themselves off from friends and family, and escaping the world’s judgmental eyes, feels like the best way to protect their fragile, all-consuming romance. But when a crisis forces the new Duke and Duchess back to London, the Band-Aid they’d placed over their problems starts to peel at the edges. Now, as old family secrets and new ones threaten to derail her new royal life, Bex has to face the emotional wreckage she and Nick left behind: with the Queen, with the world, and with Nick’s brother Freddie, whose sins may not be so easily forgotten — nor forgiven.

The Heir Affair picks up right where The Royal We left off, immediately after Bex and Nick’s disaster of a royal wedding. After self-exiling, they are summoned home by the Queen herself and are in for a rude awakening when they return - both to the family and the public eye. 

This sequel has so much more drama, traumatic scandals, and tragedy than the first installment, which makes sense because at this point the characters are really growing up. The real question throughout the book is whether Bex and Nick’s love is strong enough to survive the scandal with Freddie, disapproval from the public and the Queen, and all the ups and downs of married life. Along the way, we get to learn more about Freddie’s history and the hidden secrets of the royal family, which are both juicy and tragic. This was a great read that was at times heart-wrenching, but had me rooting for Bex, Nick, and Freddie the entire way through. A FABULOUS sequel! *Disclaimer* I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[windycitybookworm]

Quarantine Cooking!

As we continue to follow stay-at-home orders in Illinois, most everyone I know has been doing more cooking at home than usual. My husband and I typically cook at home far more often than our friends and family do, so we have been receiving a lot of requests for our favorite weeknight meals, recipe recommendations, and calls just asking what we’re eating tonight. Lucky for you, I received TWO amazing new cookbooks as part of ABRAMS Dinner Party that have tons of delicious recipes that anyone can tackle at home - even during a pandemic when not all ingredients are easy to find.

First up, I want to highlight Joy Bauer’s newest cookbook, Superfood! There is an entire section of this cookbook dedicated to superfood FRIES! From rosemary chickpea fries to eggplant parmesan fries to sweet potato fries, Superfood! has your fry cravings covered with a healthy twist. I personally can’t wait to try the jicama fries with avocado-lime dipping sauce. The dessert section includes a mouthwatering recipe for pumpkin pie ice cream that is calling to me. There is also a comprehensive section featuring drinks at the end of the book that really stood out to me because they aren’t your average shakes or tonics. There are some really delicious sounding smoothies that sneak in way more vegetables than I would think to add on my own, and Joy added quite a few cocktail recipes to the mix - all with a healthy super food twist, such as a matcha Moscow mule. 

Next up, I am giving you a sneak peek at Gaby Dalkin’s (of What’s Gaby Cooking) latest cookbook, Eat What You Want. I’m going to start with the end of the book because Gaby’s sauce recipes are incredibly on-point. A great sauce can take any dish to a whole new level, and Gaby makes it easy for anyone to make their own sauces, dressings, and dips at home! Her creamy pecorino vinaigrette is out of this world, and I am 99% sure you could put it on cardboard and it would still taste amazing. There is a recipe for a “Kitchen Sink Quesadilla” that I want to eat every day forever. It perfectly combines my love of vegetables and Mexican cuisine, and it can easily be made gluten free by swapping out the flour tortillas for corn (or your choice of non-wheat flour) tortillas. Eat What You Want also includes a vacation-themed section, which features dishes inspired by places Gaby has been and loved or are currently on her travel bucket list. We love experimenting with different ethnic cuisines in my house, so we immediately bookmarked this section for upcoming dinner recipes. 

As a gluten-free vegetarian, I often find recipes I love that I have to do some tweaking with to make them fit my dietary restrictions. What I love most about these cookbooks is that, while there are still some recipes for breads or other glutenous foods that I can tweak, most of the recipes already fit the way I normally cook and eat. It’s incredibly easy to sub-out the meat in most of the recipes, and a lot of them don’t include gluten to begin with! I love the vegetable-forward, fresh food lifestyle, and I am thrilled to see so many new and exciting recipes that highlight how to make great-tasting, healthy food at home. I can’t thank ABRAMS enough for sending me these two new releases to share with all of you, and I can’t wait to cook up a storm this summer! 

If you try a recipe from either of these books, please let me know how it turned out and what you thought. Happy cooking!

*Disclaimer* This post is sponsored by ABRAMS Books, as part of the ABRAMS Dinner Party.

[windycitybookworm]

Pretty Things - Janelle Brown

Two wildly different women - one a grifter, the other an heiress - are brought together by the scam of a lifetime in a page-turner from the New York Times bestselling author of Watch Me Disappear.

Nina, a liberal arts graduate whose dreams of dealing antique art are dashed by the reality of working for rich New Yorkers for minimum wage, is called back to Los Angeles when her mother becomes ill. With the weight of hefty medical bills crushing Nina and her mother, she turns to stealing from the rich in Los Angeles to pay for a life for herself and her mother. Her Irish boyfriend, Lachlan, teaches her the skills of the con artist trade, and together, they scam all over L.A., until the police show up at Nina’s house one day. When Nina’s mother’s health takes a turn for the worse, Nina decides to risk everything to get her mom the best treatment, planning her most risky and unbelievable scam so far. Vanessa is a rich, young heiress who became an Instagram influencer in New York. After her engagement is called off, she moves back to her family’s Tahoe estate, Stonehaven, presumably to seek refuge from the prying eyes surrounding her in New York and online. Readers will soon find that the mansion holds secrets from Vanessa’s past, as well as Nina’s... which is why Nina has set her sights on conning Vanessa for her biggest and final scam - and the ultimate revenge.  Pretty Things is filled with family secrets and some secrets so deep that they are hidden even from the characters themselves. This book will make you wonder if anyone is really who they seem.

*Disclaimer* I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

[windycitybookworm]

Don’t Look For Me - Wendy Walker

The greatest risk isn’t running away. It’s running out of time. The car abandoned miles from home. The note found at a nearby hotel. The shattered family that couldn’t be put back together. They called it a “walk away.” It happens all the time. Women disappear, desperate to leave their lives behind and start over. But is that what really happened to Molly Clarke?

I thoroughly enjoy all of Wendy Walker’s books, but Don’t Look For Me might be a new favorite. There are multiple layers of suspense, and Walker does a great job of keeping you guessing who the “bad guys” are throughout most of the book. I especially appreciate this aspect of her writing because, while I love a thriller, a lot of them are predictable or give away the culprit far too early. In this book lover’s opinion, the fun is in the thinking you’ve figured it all out only to find out that the person you thought was the “bad guy” is really a helper, and then you get to start the whole process over again until the big “GOTCHA!” moment. 

Don’t Look For Me has it all: family issues, a missing person, mother/daughter relationships, a small town where everybody knows everyone’s business, suspense, and more. If you’re locked up at home right now, avoiding the COVID-19 pandemic, I would highly recommend adding Don’t Look For Me to your reading list. And even if you aren’t locked up at home... go ahead and add this one to your list. It’s a quick, thrilling read, and you won’t be disappointed. 

*Disclaimer* I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

[windycitybookworm]

Winter Cookbook Roundup (Sponsored by ABRAMS Books/ABRAMS Dinner Party)

I’m dropping in on this chilly, Midwestern afternoon with some serious cookbooks to up your dinner game as we finish out the winter months and move toward warmer temperatures. All three of these cookbooks feature hearty dishes that will keep you warm and happy, from the outside-in while cooking and from the inside-out while eating! 

First up we have From Scratch, a cookbook that teaches you to make EVERYTHING (and I do mean EVERY. SINGLE. INGREDIENT.), you guessed it, from scratch! I haven’t made anything from this one yet because I’ll actually need to start a garden for my own herbs and lettuce first, but I love the idea of this so much, especially in this day and age when we are all so worried about what chemicals, hormones, or pesticides are in our food. If you aren’t up to the task of completely growing your food from ground to table, don’t worry. The next two books are right up your alley!

Home Made in the Oven features more than 80 amateur-chef-ready recipes for your home oven. The book is helpfully broken up into categories (meat, fish, vegetables, and baking) to make your cooking adventure as easy and straightforward as possible. The recipes are accessible and achievable for the average person but will have your friends and family impressed with your culinary prowess. And every good Midwesterner knows that the best way to warm up in the winter is cooking with your oven! 

Last, but certainly not least, I present to you The Saltwater Table. Chock-full of recipes from the American Southeastern coast (think Georgia and Louisiana), this cookbook contains recipes for the ultimate comfort food. If you are a fan of seafood, you will not want to miss out on The Saltwater Table.

*Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by ABRAMS Books, as part of the ABRAMS Dinner Party.

[windycitybookworm]

Finale - Stephanie Garber

A love worth fighting for. A dream worth dying for. An ending worth waiting for. It’s been two months since the Fates were freed from a deck of cards, two months since Legend claimed the throne for his own, and two months since Tella discovered the boy she fell in love with doesn’t really exist. With lives, empires, and hearts hanging in the balance, Tella must decide if she’s going to trust Legend or a former enemy. After uncovering a secret that upends her life, Scarlett will need to do the impossible. And Legend has a choice to make that will forever change and define him. Caraval is over, but perhaps the greatest game of all has begun. There are no spectators this time—only those who will win, and those who will lose everything. Welcome, welcome to Finale. All games must come to an end…

I am OBSESSED with this series, and I was both thrilled and devastated to read the final book. Finale was everything I could have hoped for and more. The magic continues to sweep you into the world of Caraval, and I loved the tie-ins with tarot cards and the Fates throughout Finale and Legendary. It gave a fantasy storyline more of a bridge to the real world, similar to the muggle lifestyle and artifacts in the Harry Potter books.

Finale has it all: magic, family, love, loss, danger, temptation, mystical beings, and the ultimate game.

*Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

[windycitybookworm]

From the Corner of the Oval - Beck Dorey-Stein

The compulsively readable, behind-the-scenes memoir that takes readers inside the Obama White House, through the eyes of a young staffer learning the ropes, falling in love, and finding her place in the world. In 2012, Beck Dorey-Stein was just scraping by in DC when a posting on Craigslist landed her, improbably, in the Oval Office as one of Barack Obama's stenographers. The ultimate DC outsider, she joined the elite team who accompanied the president wherever he went, recorder and mic in hand. On whirlwind trips across time zones, Beck forged friendships with a tight group of fellow travelers--young men and women who, like her, left their real lives behind to hop aboard Air Force One in service of the president. But as she learned the ropes of protocol, Beck became romantically entangled with a consummate DC insider, and suddenly, the political became all too personal. Set against the backdrop of a White House full of glamour, drama, and intrigue, this is the story of a young woman making unlikely friendships, getting her heart broken, learning what truly matters, and discovering her voice in the process.

I did not want this book to end! Beck is a phenomenal story-teller who makes you feel her emotions, from the excitement of interacting with President Obama and flying in Air Force One to the sadness of her breakups. While reading From the Corner of the Oval, it felt like I too was making friends at the White House and navigating the ropes of my first big-girl job. 

Although most of us will never work at the White House, Beck’s tales are relatable because, aside from the worldly travels her job takes her on, the issues she faces and the way she has to navigate finding her way in her new career are all things that any working adult can relate to. She is told numerous times by many White House staffers that her writing is something special, and nothing rings truer throughout the entirety of her first book. I hope there is more to come from Beck.

**Disclaimer** I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[windycitybookworm]

WorkParty: How to Create & Cultivate the Career of Your Dreams - Jaclyn Johnson

First, we leaned in. Now we stand up. Jaclyn Johnson—the founder and CEO behind Create & Cultivate, the fastest growing online platform and conference for millennial women in business— offers a rallying cry for a new generation of women who are redefining the meaning of work on their own terms: WorkParty. Women who want it all and more, and guess what? They can have it. Jaclyn suffered a massive blow in her early twenties. She was on an upward career climb and confidently moved across the country for a job—and then, was abruptly let go. Attempting to turn that closed door into an open window, she launched a company with a trusted business partner. Soon after, she discovered said business partner had made detrimental decisions to the company without her knowledge. Before she knew it, she was in the throes of a brutal business partner break up. She was only twenty-four. Determined to bounce back, Jaclyn overhauled the mess that was her life and by the time she was in her early thirties, she had sold a company and launched the much-buzzed about Create & Cultivate platform—and advised and invested in multiple million-dollar projects at the same time. So, how did she do it? In WorkParty, Jaclyn shows how she turned distrust into determination, frustration into fuel, and heartache into hard work—and how you can, too. With stories from leading female entrepreneurs including Christene Barberich (co-founder of Refinery29), Alli Webb, (creator of Drybar), Morgan Debaun (founder of Blavity), Jen Gotch of Ban.do, Rebecca Minkoff, and Kendra Scott, you will learn the tips and tricks from the best in the business while cultivating the passion and happiness you need to succeed. By embracing failure and reconciling your femininity with being a boss, you’ll join the movement that is WorkParty—and have fun along the way.

I loved this book, and I'm currently loving all of Jaclyn's advice and guests on the new WorkParty podcast, as well! WorkParty has amazing resources and advice for starting a business and just general advice, tips, and tricks for women in the workforce. I particularly enjoyed the chapter about giving back. I'll  be attending the WorkParty tour next week and can't wait to post about takeaways from that event, as well. This is a must-read for women in business!

**Disclaimer** I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[windycitybookworm]

The Cheerleaders - Kara Thomas

There are no more cheerleaders in the town of Sunnybrook. First there was the car accident—two girls gone after hitting a tree on a rainy night. Not long after, the murders happened. Those two girls were killed by the man next door. The police shot him, so no one will ever know why he did it. Monica’s sister was the last cheerleader to die. After her suicide, Sunnybrook High disbanded the cheer squad. No one wanted to be reminded of the girls they lost. That was five years ago. Now the faculty and students at Sunnybrook High want to remember the lost cheerleaders. But for Monica, it’s not that easy. She just wants to forget. Only, Monica’s world is starting to unravel. There are the letters in her stepdad’s desk, an unearthed, years-old cell phone, a strange new friend at school. . . . Whatever happened five years ago isn’t over. Some people in town know more than they’re saying. And somehow Monica is at the center of it all. There are no more cheerleaders in Sunnybrook, but that doesn’t mean anyone else is safe.

I enjoyed The Cheerleaders way more than I thought I would. I got sucked into the story line and the mystery pretty quickly and had a really hard time putting it down. I ended up finishing it in two days. 

Kara Thomas takes readers on a roller coaster of emotions and convinces the reader that numerous characters are exhibiting shady behavior, only revealing their true colors at the very end. The Cheerleaders is a really quick, easy, but suspenseful read that this reader would recommend to a friend.

**Disclaimer** I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[windycitybookworm]

An Anonymous Girl - Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

The next novel of psychological suspense and obsession from the authors of the blockbuster bestseller The Wife Between Us Seeking women ages 18–32 to participate in a study on ethics and morality. Generous compensation. Anonymity guaranteed. When Jessica Farris signs up for a psychology study conducted by the mysterious Dr. Shields, she thinks all she’ll have to do is answer a few questions, collect her money, and leave. But as the questions grow more and more intense and invasive and the sessions become outings where Jess is told what to wear and how to act, she begins to feel as though Dr. Shields may know what she’s thinking…and what she’s hiding. As Jess’s paranoia grows, it becomes clear that she can no longer trust what in her life is real, and what is one of Dr. Shields’ manipulative experiments. Caught in a web of deceit and jealousy, Jess quickly learns that some obsessions can be deadly. From the authors of the blockbuster bestseller The Wife Between Us comes an electrifying new novel about doubt, passion, and just how much you can trust someone.

I cannot say enough good things about the magic that occurs when Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen team up to co-author a novel! An Anonymous Girl is gripping from the start and kept me hanging on every word until the very last page. 

The book opens with an advertisement requesting participants for a psychological study on morality. Then readers are immediately introduced to protagonist, Jessica Farris, a late twenties, single, New York City woman making ends meet working as a freelance makeup artist. When she overhears a client talk of skipping a psychology study that pays $500, she decides to participate in the study instead. 

Chapters switch between Jessica’s point-of-view and the perspective of Dr. Shields - the person behind the study. It is quickly revealed to readers that Dr. Shields is intrigued by Jessica’s survey responses, and Jessica is asked to continue her participation, eventually meeting Dr. Shields and being given personal “tasks” to complete for the sake of the study - or so Jessica thinks. 

Eventually, Jessica becomes wrapped up in Dr. Shields’s marital issues and finds herself in the middle of a possible murder cover-up. She is forced to try to uncover the truth, about Dr. Shields’s marriage, the murder, and herself, before it’s too late and she becomes the next victim. 

This was such a quick read because I couldn’t put it down if I tried. I honestly finished it in one day, and I cannot recommend pre-ordering An Anonymous Girl enough. This needs to be at the top of your winter reading list!

**DISCLAIMER** I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[windycitybookworm]

Charlotte Walsh Likes To Win - Jo Piazza

From Jo Piazza, the bestselling author of The Knock Off, How to Be Married, and Fitness Junkie, comes an exciting, insightful novel about what happens when a woman wants it all—political power, a happy marriage, and happiness—but isn’t sure just how much she’s willing to sacrifice to get it. Charlotte Walsh is running for Senate in the most important race in the country during a midterm election that will decide the balance of power in Congress. Still reeling from a presidential election that shocked and divided the country and inspired by the chance to make a difference, she’s left behind her high-powered job in Silicon Valley and returned, with her husband Max and their three young daughters, to her downtrodden Pennsylvania hometown to run in the Rust Belt state. Once the campaign gets underway, Charlotte is blindsided by just how dirty her opponent is willing to fight, how harshly she is judged by the press and her peers, and how exhausting it becomes to navigate a marriage with an increasingly ambivalent and often resentful husband. When the opposition uncovers a secret that could threaten not just her campaign but everything Charlotte holds dear, she has to decide just how badly she wants to win and at what cost. A searing, suspenseful story of political ambition, marriage, class, sexual politics, and infidelity, Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win is an insightful portrait of what it takes for a woman to run for national office in America today. In a dramatic political moment like no other with more women running for office than ever before, Jo Piazza’s novel is timely, engrossing, and perfect for readers on both sides of the aisle.

Charlotte Walsh Likes To Win is just the book women need in 2018. In light of the current political landscape and the fact that for some reason women still don’t have equality in the 21st century, main character Charlotte Walsh is the powerful HBIC that women can stand behind. 

Charlotte is the hottest CEO in Silicon Valley until she decides to take a sabbatical and run for Senate in her home state of Pennsylvania. While Piazza never outright mentions any real-life politicians by name, the prime reason Charlotte gives for running for office throughout the book is because she knows she can do a better job for American people than the current government. References are made to the last presidential election, of which we all know the result, and Charlotte’s opponent is an intolerant older white man who doesn’t think a woman can possibly hold office. 

Readers are not only given an inside look into a fictionalized political campaign, but are also shown the difficulties of running a campaign and a family - a major issue for women in American society today. Charlotte Walsh Likes To Win is funny at times, heart-wrenching at others, and very true to reality throughout. 

**Disclaimer** I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[windycitybookworm]

Give Me Your Hand - Megan Abbott

Kit Owens harbored only modest ambitions for herself when the mysterious Diane Fleming appeared in her high school chemistry class. But Diane's academic brilliance lit a fire in Kit, and the two developed an unlikely friendship. Until Diane shared a secret that changed everything between them. More than a decade later, Kit thinks she's put Diane behind her forever and she's begun to fulfill the scientific dreams Diane awakened in her. But the past comes roaring back when she discovers that Diane is her competition for a position both women covet, taking part in groundbreaking new research led by their idol. Soon enough, the two former friends find themselves locked in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse that threatens to destroy them both.

Megan Abbott’s newest novel, Give Me Your Hand, promised to be a “mesmerizing psychological thriller,” and it did not disappoint. 

I found the novel initially hard to get invested in because the author jumps right into the story, with the reader learning background on the characters and how they are connected as the book progresses. This initially created a lack of connection to the characters and the storyline for me. However, about a quarter of the way into the novel, I was hooked! 

Kit and Diane’s perverse friendship is driven more by the desire to best one another than any actual affection between the two teenagers. They initially bond when Kit reveals a secret at summer camp that upsets Diane, and years later Diane repays the favor by sharing a secret that will change Kit’s life forever. They drift apart after high school, and Kit has no desire to ever see Diane again. Unfortunately for her, Diane shows up as her boss’s new protege one day and turns Kit’s world upside down all over again.

Give Me Your Hand will have you turning pages until the very end with all of its twists perfectly woven into the story of two women with a truly killer connection.

**Disclaimer** I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[windycitybookworm]

Legendary - Stephanie Garber

Stephanie Garber’s limitless imagination takes flight once more in the colorful, mesmerizing, and immersive sequel to the bestselling breakout debut Caraval. A heart to protect. A debt to repay. A game to win. After being swept up in the magical world of Caraval, Donatella Dragna has finally escaped her father and saved her sister Scarlett from a disastrous arranged marriage. The girls should be celebrating, but Tella isn’t yet free. She made a desperate bargain with a mysterious criminal, and what Tella owes him no one has ever been able to deliver: Caraval Master Legend’s true name. The only chance of uncovering Legend’s identity is to win Caraval, so Tella throws herself into the legendary competition once more—and into the path of the murderous heir to the throne, a doomed love story, and a web of secrets…including her sister's. Caraval has always demanded bravery, cunning, and sacrifice. But now the game is asking for more. If Tella can’t fulfill her bargain and deliver Legend’s name, she’ll lose everything she cares about—maybe even her life. But if she wins, Legend and Caraval will be destroyed forever. Welcome, welcome to Caraval...the games have only just begun.

I cannot say enough how much I loved this book! Caraval was amazing, but Legendary completely swept me away into the world of Caraval. This book has EVERYTHING - fantasy, magic, love, death, family, fear, suspense, and more!

Author Stephanie Garber says, "I wanted to write a book full of questions with no easy answers. I wanted to tell a story about characters both fragile and indestructible. I wanted battles between bravery and fear, and belief and disbelief." It is my utmost pleasure to say that she did all of that and MORE.

Legendary is told from Tella's point-of-view and revolves around her need to repay a debt. Unfortunately for Tella, in order to repay this debt she must turn over the true identity of Legend - creator and master of Caraval. If she fails this task, she will pay for it dearly - with her life. She must choose to either destroy herself or destroy Caraval forever, and it seems there is no way to save both.

Woven throughout this tale is a story of a magical deck of cards from Tella's youth and how they intertwine with her fate. She is given a chance to save her mother, who has been missing for years, but this too will come at a great cost to Tella and the world as she knows it. And don't even get me started on the mesmerizingly torturous relationship between Tella and Dante!

If you liked Caraval, you will LOVE Legendary! I already can't wait for the next book - Finale - to be released... in 2019.

**DISCLAIMER** I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[windycitybookworm]

When Life Gives You Lululemons - Lauren Weisberger

New York Times bestselling author Lauren Weisberger returns with a novel starring one of her favorite characters from The Devil Wears Prada—Emily Charlton, first assistant to Miranda Priestly, now a highly successful image consultant who’s just landed the client of a lifetime.

Welcome to Greenwich, CT, where the lawns and the women are perfectly manicured, the Tito’s and sodas are extra strong, and everyone has something to say about the infamous new neighbor. Let’s be clear: Emily Charlton, Miranda Priestly’s ex-assistant, does not do the suburbs. She’s working in Hollywood as an image consultant to the stars, but recently, Emily’s lost a few clients. She’s hopeless with social media. The new guard is nipping at her heels. She needs a big opportunity, and she needs it now. Karolina Hartwell is as A-list as they come. She’s the former face of L’Oreal. A mega-supermodel recognized the world over. And now, the gorgeous wife of the newly elected senator from New York, Graham, who also has his eye on the presidency. It’s all very Kennedy-esque, right down to the public philandering and Karolina’s arrest for a DUI—with a Suburban full of other people’s children. Miriam is the link between them. Until recently she was a partner at one of Manhattan’s most prestigious law firms. But when Miriam moves to Greenwich and takes time off to spend with her children, she never could have predicted that being stay-at-home mom in an uber-wealthy town could have more pitfalls than a stressful legal career. Emily, Karolina, and Miriam make an unlikely trio, but they desperately need each other. Together, they’ll navigate the social landmines of life in America’s favorite suburb on steroids, revealing the truths—and the lies—that simmer just below the glittering surface. With her signature biting style, Lauren Weisberger offers a dazzling look into another sexy, over-the-top world, where nothing is as it appears.

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to Lauren Weisberger and the fantastic folks at Simon & Schuster for an advance copy of her newest novel, When Life Gives You Lululemons! 

I have been a fan of Lauren Weisberger since The Devil Wears Prada and have been lucky enough to review some of her other new titles as well, but nothing can compare to the excitement of diving into this new book featuring the one and only EMILY CHARLTON. I could not wait to read what the brash and sassy Emily has been up to, and honestly Weisberger’s novels never disappoint. 

Emily is still as sassy as ever, but now she has left Miranda and Runway to start her own image consulting business. When an up-and-coming consultant steals her clients and her husband is dragged away on a painfully long business trip, Emily ends up staying in Greenwich, CT with her old friend, Miriam. Emily needs to figure out what’s next for her life and career, Miriam needs to get her juju back after having kids and quitting her job as a partner at a Manhattan law firm, and Karolina needs someone to save her from the scandal she never saw coming. 

These three women form friendships that eventually lead them all to exactly what they were looking for, even though none of them knew themselves what their next steps should be. Funny, touching, and written with Lauren Weisberger’s amazing voice, When Life Gives You Lululemons is the perfect summer read for 2018!

**Disclaimer** I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[windycitybookworm]

The Elizas - Sara Shepard

When debut novelist Eliza Fontaine is found at the bottom of a hotel pool, her family at first assumes that it’s just another failed suicide attempt. But Eliza swears she was pushed, and her rescuer is the only witness. Desperate to find out who attacked her, Eliza takes it upon herself to investigate. But as the publication date for her novel draws closer, Eliza finds more questions than answers. Like why are her editor, agent, and family mixing up events from her novel with events from her life? Her novel is completely fictional, isn’t it? The deeper Eliza goes into her investigation while struggling with memory loss, the closer her life starts to resemble her novel until the line between reality and fiction starts to blur and she can no longer tell where her protagonist’s life ends and hers begins.

I really love Sara Shepard's books and was so excited to read her newest title, The Elizas. Unfortunately, this book did not have the characteristic Sara Shepard twists and turns that generally keep me, and my fellow readers, sucked into the story until the very end. Her previous series have all been filled with mystery and danger, the kind of writing that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand on edge when frantically reading late at night to get to the end. The Elizas was sadly missing all of those trademarks of her writing, and I did not find myself captivated by the characters or the storyline.

I highly recommend you pick up the Pretty Little Liars or The Lying Game series if you are looking for a read more indicative of her writing style. 

**Disclaimer** I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.